Breaking Inside Remastered
by Ghost501
Summary: It's over. The demigods have won the Titan War. But at what expenses. Percy doesn't know. Due to a mental blackout, he know longer remembers how he and Annabeth escaped Tartarus. All he knows is that a certain son of Hades is no longer with them. Will he ever get his answers? Find out.
1. Chapter 1

Alright guys, we're reaching the end of the remasterings. This one was my second tragedy in the Percy Jackson series. Without further delay, here is _Breaking Inside Remastered_. Enjoy.

* * *

Percy watched Annabeth from his table as she tried desperately to not look at him. Despite actually hating the style, it seemed as though Annabeth was trying to throw her hair over her eyes in an attempt to block her vision of him. Every time he tried to talk her, she would brush him off so innocently. She would conveniently need to do something whenever he tried to talk to her alone. Percy sighed to himself as he began to play with his food.

Annabeth had become more and more distant after they had escaped from Tarturus. And it hurt. For weeks now, Percy had been trying to figure out what was it that he did wrong. People would shoot him strange looks as he passed by him. He had even seen some of the Aphrodite girls whispering to one another. What they were talking about, Percy had no idea. But it seemed as if he and Annabeth's relationship was once again the talk of the cabin. However, Percy had a bad feeling that the conversation about them was anything but positive.

The strange thing was that Annabeth was not the only one being weird. Leo, Piper, and Jason were also seemed to be avoiding Percy. But, he could never figure out why. The only conclusion he could draw to was that something happened to them on the day he and Annabeth had escaped Tartarus.

He put his hand on his head as a small headache began to take over. Every time he thought about their escape, he would get random pains, often in the form of a headache, though sometimes he would be rendered unconscious. He couldn't explain it, but the world often started to go fuzzy whenever he tried to recall the events of that day. Almost as if his own brain was trying to hide the event from him. He didn't understand it. He still remembered Tartarus and his near death experiences there. So, why couldn't he remember leaving that damned place?

Percy closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. Not only did physical pain affect the young hero, but the emotional pain had often rivaled the physical. Every time he tried to recall the memory, Percy felt extremely guilty about the whole event. Why? Why would he even feel anything towards an event he didn't remember? Had he even been awake for any of it? The last thing he remembered was Gaea trying to swallow him and Annabeth into the Earth. Then he woke up to find the others grieving over the loss of the son of Hades, Nico, on the Argo II. Annabeth and the other demigods never told him what happened no matter how many times he asked.

Percy felt tears come to his eyes as he remembered the young boy. He remembered having to apologize to the boy about his sister's death. Deep inside, Percy never truly recovered from that. Sure, Nico had, in the end, given up his grudge and forgiven him. But Percy had always felt responsible for allowing him to grow up alone. Bianca had been more than his family. She was his lifeline and without her, it had taken him a long time to ever come close to accepting Percy, or anyone else for the matter, as a friend. When he did, Percy had begun to look to him as a younger brother. A younger brother who he missed terrible.

And now, he was gone. He knew demigod lives were short, but it was experiences like this that reminded him just how short it was. He looked up to the sky in anger. Why did he have to die? Why didn't anyone care? How long was he to suffer? Why was he unable to remember these events? Just why where they hidden from him? Percy's jaw clenched.

He had saved the gods and down their dirty work for years only to be repaid by losing eight months of his life and forced to re-remember who he was while saving New Rome and defeating a giant. Then, he was allowed to fall down into hell with no help but his injured girlfriend, as brilliant as she was. And now Nico had mysteriously died in the battle and no one would give him an answer. What would he have to do so that life would just make sense for once? Just how much would it take for the Fates to give him a break?

* * *

Annabeth almost cried as she saw her boyfriend glare into the clouds. She barely resisted the urge to go to his table and hug him. To tell him that it was okay. To let him know the truth. She squeezed her eyes shut as she allowed her hair to fall in front of her face. It wasn't fair to keep him in the dark, but she had to. They all had to. The truth about what happened that day would be too much for him. As she moved her hair back behind her ear and took another quick glance at Percy, she held back her tears.

Why was Percy cursed to such a horrid life? He was such a good person. He selflessly gave 100 percent in everything—well, maybe not school—he did, especially when his friends were involved. His unwavering loyalty was both his strength and his crutch. He often put himself in very risky situations in in order to save those he loved. Even her. He went with her to Tarturus just to make sure that she would be protected. He could have left her to fall down into that hole and saved her later, but he didn't.

And now, well she didn't even want to think about his current mental status. She knew that he hadn't remembered just what had happened once they made it outside the Doors of Death, which she considered a blessing. If he knew, she shuddered. Percy would never be the same.

She trained her gaze on her plate even though the food was gone. She knew that if she looked into his sea green eyes that her resolve would weaken. He would corner her and she would have no choice but to tell him what happened. That's why she had been avoiding him. Over the past month, it had been tough trying to dodge her boyfriend.

What made it worse were those stupid Aphrodite girls. No matter how hard Piper tried to keep those girls in line, they couldn't help but open their big mouths about the trouble in Percabeth paradise. Why couldn't he just have a simpler life? He didn't deserve this kind of torture. Annabeth, amidst her sadness, felt her anger rise. She had almost caused a fight with one of them after she said that she was looking for a new boyfriend.

As she picked her head up, she noticed that her siblings were still talking. Normally, she would leave her table whenever she was ready to leave. However since she came back with Tartarus, she had tried to leave with them. It was always easier to avoid him when she traveled in a pack. Easier to get someone else in the conversation. Easier to avoid telling him the truth.

She felt like she was stabbing herself in the heart. She hadn't spent much time with Percy, especially alone. Whenever he tried to talk to her, she saw his face dampen when she called someone else to join them or told him that she was in a rush and need to go. Annabeth wished she could slap herself as hard as it look like she had done to Percy when she did this. He often looked so wounded and hurt after she brushed him off so nonchalantly. However, is he didn't stay away from him she wouldn't be able to keep the secret safe. They had shared a kiss here and there, but she could almost feel the absence of the spark between them. Almost as if the love was still there, but the passion was long gone.

She knew that she loved him and he still loved her. Her heart still skipped a beat whenever he got closer to her, and it wasn't because she was hiding a dark secret from him. However, she could also feel his pain. His disbelief that no one would trust him to tell him what happened to his younger "brother". She forced herself to give a glance over the son of Poseidon's table and instantly regretted it. His eyes were trained on her and she could already feel her strength leaving her.

_'No, you can't. Not to him. You can't destroy him!'_ Annabeth thought and snapped her attention back to her own table. She scolded herself for even attempting such a dare. She started cursing everything in her head. Why couldn't he just be free? But as she contemplated this, another ugly thought crossed her mind. How long could she keep Percy in the dark? How long would it be before he got tired and concerned her? How long would I be before he figured it out? She closed her eyes and waited for her siblings to finally leave.

* * *

Percy felt his heart sink as she turned away from him. He not only felt ashamed of trying to use his influence on her, but he also felt betrayed. He and Annabeth had gone through everything together. Hell, they had even gone through Tartarus together as well as a majority of the others quests. But now, it felt like she was trying to distance himself from him. Like she was purposely trying to tear them apart. Had he done something wrong?

Realizing that there was no point in him staying there, he slowly got up from his table and stalked off to his cabin. As he entered him room, a feeling of un-belonging entered him. Never before had he felt so empty inside his own home away from home. He felt the pain of the distrust cut into him. He felt the pain of losing Nico cut into him. He felt the pain of the loneliness he felt inside. He flopped onto his bed but actually felt too tired to sleep. He turned over so that he was lying on his back and he stared at the ceiling. What had he done to offend the Fates so much? Why didn't anyone just talk to him anymore? Why didn't Annabeth just tell him what was going on?

He grabbed his pillow from behind his head and put into up to his face. And then he cried. The pillow muffled the noise of his sobbing. Why couldn't it just go back to being the same way it was before?

* * *

She couldn't take watching him suffer like this. When Annabeth noticed Percy leaving, she couldn't help herself. She had to check up on him. She knew this whole situation was taking its toll on him. She stood outside Percy's cabin as he sobbed. She couldn't tell what was worse: telling him the truth or not.

"Annabeth, what are you doing?" a voice asked, startling Annabeth.

"Piper! Don't scare me like that!" she yelled as she whirled around and acknowledged the daughter of Aphrodite.

"Sorry, but you still didn't answer my question."

"It's Percy. He's getting worse. At first, I thought he would just accept the story Chiron gave him, but he's smarter than what we give him credit for. He's figuring out that there's more than what we're telling him."

"Annabeth, you we can't…"

"I KNOW!" Annabeth yelled, causing Piper to move back a pace. Annabeth's face softened, "I'm so sorry, Piper. It's just that I hate seeing him like this. It's killing me inside. Every day, it gets harder and harder for me to look at him because every time I do, I think about how much I'm hurting him. And the worst part is that I have to do it. I have to hurt him in order to save him. It's just so wrong."

"So, what are you going to do?" Piper asked as she pulled her friend into a warm hug.

"I don't know. I just don't know."


	2. Chapter 2

"_Percy, come on! We need to keep going!" she yelled. Annabeth's body ached in pain. But it was either run or die. Something or something was after them again. But that wasn't the issue. They were demigods in Tartarus, everything was after them. The problem was that the thing chasing them was Kronos. He had somehow regenerated in Tartarus._

_It made no sense. His essence had been ripped apart by the blast that had killed Luke. But yet here he was before them and he was angry. Annabeth turned around to make sure that Percy was behind her. He had received a nasty gash earlier try to fight him and the wound was slowing him down. She grimaced as he tried to keep up, the red liquid covering his hand as he tried to keep his injury covered. She needed to get him someplace safe where he could recover. Otherwise, he would…. She shook her head. No, she wouldn't allow that to happen to him. She would save him._

_As she reached out for his arm, she felt her body becoming sluggish. Almost as if time was slowing down. Oh no. Kronos launched himself forward and pushed Percy onto the ground. And she could do nothing but watch. No. Not him. Anything but this. The last thing she saw was Kronos's scythe raised in the air. And then, light flooded he pit._

Annabeth awoke in a cold sweat. She was in her cabin! She wasn't in Tartarus. She focused on trying to restore her breathing to normal. Somehow, she had managed not to scream and wake up the rest of her siblings.

The nightmares were back. After the first week they had gotten back from Tarturus, the dreams were horrid, but they had begun to calm down. Tonight was the first night that she had gotten one and this one was the worst of them. This was the first time that she had dreamt something that never happened. Normally, she wasn't really dreaming and did more remembering. But tonight, this was something completely new. She was certain that they had never run into Kronos down in Tartarus.

Annabeth froze as her brain began to shake off the dream. Demigod dreams never meant anything good. In fact, they often were omens. So if she dreamt of him dying…

She quietly slipped out of her bed and exited her cabin. The moon shone brightly as she ran to his home. She needed to get to him now. She needed to make sure that he was okay.

When she got to his cabin, she silently opened the door and poked her head through. The cabin was dark, but she could see the outline of her boyfriend in his bed. She stepped inside, closed the door, and tiptoed to his side. She gently placed to fingers to his neck and almost collapsed in relief as she felt a pulse.

She let go a breath she didn't even know that she was holding and prepared to leave the cabin, but she didn't factor the possibility that Percy was only half asleep. His hand grabbed hold of her and she turned to face him…which caused her to fall victim to his eyes. She tried to turn away, but there was nowhere to turn to. She was fixated on him. She felt the eyes stare into hers and she knew that she was in trouble. His green eyes shone as if he had been crying.

"Why?" he asked.

She gulped. She really didn't want him to be talking to her because that would involve her talking back to him. She tried to look at the ceiling. At the floor. At anything that wasn't his face. "Why what?" she asked, playing stupid.

"You know what, Annabeth." his voice sounded so sad and broken that it ripped her heart in two. She had done this to him, but she knew that if she told him the truth what she had done to him now would be nothing. She would only rip him in two.

"No, I don't know, Percy. But I know that's it almost one in the morning and I need to get back to my cabin."

"But you were the one who came to my cabin."

_'Crap,' _she thought. Why did he pick now of all times to be observant and logical?

"So, Annabeth," he stood up from his bed and walked towards her. He was almost half a foot taller than her now. She backed up until she hit a wall and realized too late that she was cornered. Why had she gotten herself into this mess? Why did she just have to get that nightmare tonight? "Why are you hiding Nico's death from me?"

"I'm not hiding anything. We told you he died fighting the monsters. We tried to save him, but we just couldn't. It all happened too fast."

"Then how were the Doors of Death closed?"

"An earthquake. Remember? They were so close together they just shook themselves closed."

"Oh, was it an earthquake because Piper told me that Thantos closed them. And Chiron told me that Hades closed them! And Leo told me the all of the Big Three members closed them!"

Annabeth looked into her love's eyes fearfully. She knew he wasn't mad. He was upset yes, but not mad. He was just tired of being lied to all the time; especially by the one he trusted most of all. Especially by her.

"Please, Annabeth," he pleaded, "just tell me the truth."

She closed her eyes, "I can't. Please. Please don't make me tell, Percy. You don't understand. I can't see you get hurt."

"I'm already hurt! Nico's dead and no one will tell me why! I've had my closest friends lie to my face! I've been alienated by everyone I love for the past month! If you're worried about me being hurt, you're a little late!"

"No, because I know what happened that day. And I know that if I tell you what happened, it will destroy you. This is something you can't handle, Percy. Please believe me that when I say this is something that you don't want to know."

"That's not for you to decide! I was there too, but yet I was the only one who doesn't remember anything! How fair is that?"

"Believe me Percy, you've got it the best out of all of us. You don't remember. Do you have any idea how much I wish I could forget? Do you know how much it tears me up on the inside that I have to lie to your face every time you ask me about this or every time I have to avoid you because I know this conversation is unavoidable! Percy, I love you and I'm not willing to watch you destroy yourself. I'm not willing to watch you kill yourself over this. And the only way I can assure that is by leaving you in the dark."

Percy stared at her for a long time. For the first time, Annabeth thought that his eyes looked calculating. Almost as if he was trying to figure out the best plan of attack. Then he leaned in and kissed her. Annabeth fought herself. It was so hard to force herself not to respond to him. She knew he was just looking for a way to weaken her, but she had to stay strong for him. He wouldn't survive if he knew the truth.

As he broke of the kiss, he looked back into her grey eyes. They were concerned and scared at the same time. What was she hiding so close to her heart that she wouldn't tell him?

He felt despair and shame consume. How dare he try and force her to tell him? He knew Annabeth would tell him anything—with the exception of this secret. Tears filled his eyes and he turned his back to her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to use that to try and get information. It was wrong. I'm…" he took a breath, "I just tired of being in the dark. That's all I've been in for almost a month now. I…I just wanted to know."

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, Percy. But I can't let you know. I just can't let you know."

"I know."

She walked up behind him and hugged him. She felt terrible for being the cause of this, but she would feel worse if he knew. She turned him around so that he faced her and gave him a small kiss on his check. "Please, just…stop thinking about this. Please, I know it's hard, but it'll be better if you let it go. And get some rest. For me?"

"Okay."

She left his cabin and returned back to her own. _'Percy, I wish I could let you know.'_

* * *

When she woke up the next morning, she knew something was wrong. Her siblings were all up and some were staring sadly at her. Finally, Malcolm rose and walked towards her. It had taken her a little while to understand since she had just woken up; but after Malcolm retold the situation to her, she was dressed in under a minute and already sprinting towards the infirmary.

_'No! He wouldn't have!'_ She thought as she opened the door. But sure enough, there he was. Lying on his bed and white as a sheet. Leo sat almost dozing off in a small chair next to him. The door opening had snapped the boy awake and he turned to see her.

"Oh, I was wondering when you would show up." He said.

"What happened?" Annabeth asked although she had already heard from Malcolm. Her mind was reeling as she walked over to her boyfriend's side. His face was so pale. He looked like a spirit. She gently put her hand on his cheek; almost afraid that her hand would go through him.

"Well, when no one saw him at breakfast, I went to check up on him. It wasn't like him to miss breakfast and he had been looking pretty depressed earlier. When I got to the cabin, I noticed that the air was a little humid and so I grabbed Piper.

"He was like this when we got there. In fact he was even worse; somehow he got it so that it was really hot in his cabin. It seems as though he was trying to give himself severe dehydration or worse. Anyway, we got him out of the oven and brought him here. We've been giving him water, but Chiron insisted I stay here to make sure that he didn't try anything funny again."

"Oh," she said softly. What else could she say? He almost died because of them…because of her. She drew a breath. She needed to look on the bright side. He was still alive. There was still time to save him.

"Look, Annabeth. I know I may not the best advice giver, but maybe we should consider telling him about Nico. I mean he almost killed himself because he doesn't know. In this case it's like a damned if you, damned if you don't thing."

Annabeth nodded, "Hey, it's okay if you want to go and try to get something to eat. I'll stay here with him."

"Okay, thanks." Leo got up from his chair and left the room.

"Oh and Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"If anyone tells him, it's going to be me."

"Wouldn't have it any other way. Trust me, I really wouldn't want to be the one to tell him."

"I know."

After Leo left the room, Annabeth took his seat and watched Percy. His chest was still moving and he was still breathing. _'I never thought he would go this far. But what else should I have expected. His fatal flaw is loyalty. This whole scenario must have been literally tearing him apart more than I ever thought it would. Leo's right. Percy has to know. When he wakes up, I'll tell him the truth'_


	3. Chapter 3

When Percy woke up, he was surprised. Why was he not in Hades? He thought he would be dead by now. He sighed loudly. Not even Death had wanted him.

He really hadn't wanted to commit suicide, but he couldn't help it. He had been so alone. Last night had been the closest that Annabeth had been for a long time, but even then she had pushed him away. The small encounter they shared still didn't fill his void that was caused by a month of abuse. Shortly after she left, he thought long and hard about his next actions.

But after doing some thinking, he decided that if no one would trust him, then what good was his loyalty. What good was it to be trustworthy when no one would trust you anyway? So, he increased the amount of water molecules in his room causing the room to become very humid. He knew it would be a while before the heat would have been able to kill him. Besides, he couldn't bear to use Riptide on himself. The heat increased and within an hour and a half, he was out like a light.

He turned his head to see Annabeth asleep in a small chair next to his bed. Knowing that he would be chewed out for trying such a stunt, Percy tried to get up and leave quietly; but his efforts were rewarded with a loud fall. He was woozy and had not yet recovered from his dehydration. However, he did succeed in waking up Annabeth. Her eyes snapped open and she rubbed her eyes. The second she realized what had happened, she got up and helped him back onto the bed.

"You okay?" she asked.

"No," he didn't have the energy to lie. What was the point? She had known why he had done it. It didn't make any sense in trying to lie to her.

"Why'd you do it?"

"Cause I have no one left! You're ignoring me! Leo and Frank pretend that I don't exist! Piper and Jason can't even look at me! Hazel looks at me like I'm the plague! Why do I need to live in a world where no one will trust me?"

"Percy, please look at me."

Percy looked into his girlfriend's grey eyes. He almost got lost in their gaze. Normally, they were calculating and warm. But now, they seem to just be searching him as if she could see some kind of inner quality that he couldn't. Maybe she did.

She gulped. This was the part she was scarred about. She had already been wrong about Percy once before. Could she afford to be wrong about him again? She took a breath and continued. Like Leo said, damned if you do, damned if you don't. "You know I love you and that I don't want to hurt you, right?"

"Yeah, I do." _'Though you certainly haven't been acting like it.'_ He thought.

"Then lie down, you're not going to believe the story I'm about to tell you."

* * *

_ "Percy, stop! I'm right here! I'm okay!" Annabeth yelled._

_ They were both outside of Tarturus with the Doors of the Death only cracked open. Despite the doors immense power on Tartarus's side, the mortal side was much less dangerous. Sure there were still monsters, but they no longer had to worry about Tartarus and the feeling of the sky on their backs. However, the problem was that they needed to close the doors on both sides in order to actually shut it. _

_They had been unable to close them because Percy had run through the crack to the other side and was currently locked in a dangerous sword fight with none other than… Nico Di Angelo. Annabeth had followed close behind him. As far as she could tell, Gaea had tricked him in order to stall for time so that the doors wouldn't be closed by sending him into some kind of vision in which she was being hurt. She could only guess that she had twisted Nico to look like the offender. Percy's eyes blazed with anger. Every strike was filled with rage; Annabeth was surprised that Nico was doing as well as he was. Then again, she didn't know just how much control Percy had over his body._

_ "HOW DARE YOU EVEN TOUCH HER!" He roared._

_ Nico was doing his best to block the oncoming assault; but he knew that if he didn't do something soon, Percy would kill him. Whether he knew it or not. As he blocked another strike, he felt the true power that Percy was attacking him with. He felt as if his blade was going to be knocked out of his hand at any moment._

_ "Percy!" Annabeth yelled, trying to break the hallucination Gaea placed on him. If anyone could get through to him, it was going to be her. Even though she didn't always like to use it, she had a certain influence over him. She merely hoped that she only would be enough. She edged closer to the fighting warriors, careful to not get mixed up in the fray. "Wake Up! You can fight Gaea. She's controlling you! Please! You're fighting Nico, not a monster! Please stop!" she cried._

_ "Please Percy!" Piper poured all her charmspeak into every word. It had become apparent to her that Percy wasn't in his right mind, perhaps he wasn't even in his mind, "You're among friends. You can stop fighting!"_

_ But it didn't work. He just charged at the child of Hades. Percy raised Riptide and slashed. Nico had barely managed to block the attack, but Percy had attacked with such forced that he caused the Stygian iron blade was finally knocked out of his hands. The sword clattered on the ground and skidded away from Nico, leaving him defenseless._

_ Nico looked at Percy. His eyes were glazed over and seemed to almost blaze with anger. An angry sneer was placed on his face. What had Gaea put into his mind so that he acted with this much rage? What had she possible convinced him that he had done?_

_ Nico closed his eyes as he saw Percy prepared to fight. Getting her was tough and the last thing he needed was a fight with one of the best ever demigod sword fighters. His body was exhausted. He wasn't even sure if he could summon a small skeletal teddy bear to take comfort in. _

_As Percy raised his sword, he was attacked by two fireballs and a strong gust of wind. The blast caused him to drop Riptide. Before Percy could grab his sword and counter, he felt his body being constricted. Another fireball hit the legendary blade and it skidded father away from the confused assailant. He looked down to see no other than an anaconda holding his body tightly._

_ Nico turned to see Jason and Leo focusing their energy on keeping Percy busy while Frank was struggling to hold him without killing him. He saw Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel doing their best to hold the Doors of Death as close to shut as they could in order to prevent more monsters from coming through. _

_He could hear the other monsters on their side of the doors reforming. As he looked behind him, he noticed that several of the monsters they had also killed trying to get up here were regenerating. The closer shut the doors got, the slower their regeneration speed became. But it would only be a matter of time before something else happened. They were out of moves. Well, all except one that was._

_So, he did the only thing he could do. The Percy thing to do. He picked up his blade, charged past everyone, and ran through the crack that Percy had run through. _

_He pushed his way through the monsters and just started slashing and hacking at everything in sight. He could help but wonder if this was how Percy felt when he took on his dad's skeletal army by the Styx a couple of years ago. He soon realized that it wasn't exactly the same. After he had destroyed ever monster in sight, despite his aching body, he looked down at himself. His clothes were sliced. His body was riddled with wounds. However, it was all going to be worth it. He knew what he was getting into._

"_Nico! What are you doing!" Hazel yelled through the gap. He could barely see any of his friend's faces, but he could at least imagine his sister's face. He hated doing this to her. It had barely been three years since he heard his sister died and now he was put in her place and forcing Hazel in his._

"_I'm sorry. But I think I finally know how Bianca felt the day she died!" he said, feeling as confident as any guy could when he knew he was going to die._

_ "What are you saying?!"she yelled back._

"_I'm saying that you're the next legacy. You will become Hades's pride! My role ends here!"_

_Using all the strength he had left, he pushed the Doors of Death in and with a final thud, the doors closed. Leaving the dying Nico trapped in Tarturus and the others safe. He turned to see the other monsters reforming. Growling. They weren't too happy that he had closed their only easy way into the mortal world. And now, they wanted a punching bag._

_Nico merely readied his sword. He wouldn't go quietly. He would die like his sister, fighting for his friends up until his final breath._

* * *

"You woke up soon after that. I was so worried that you would have blamed yourself. I'm sorry for saying this, but I was relieved when you had no idea what had happened. We thought that it would be better that way."

Percy didn't say a word. So this was the truth. Nico died because of a monster. Him. He was the monster that killed Nico. It was his fault. His fault! He had let himself be controlled by Gaea. He attacked Nico! He may have not killed the boy, but he might as well have. He thought back to the day when they came back from Greece and journeyed to Mt. Olympus. Hades had given him such an evil stare. He had never known why. But now that he did, he knew he deserved no less that what god of darkness had given him. The boy he considered a little brother was gone, and it was all his fault.

"Percy?"

"It's all my fault." Percy whispered, the news finally beginning to sink in. Nico. Dead. His fault.

"No, it's not. It was…"

"DON"T TELL ME IT WAS GAEA'S! I WAS THE ONE WHO ALLOWED IT TO HAPPEN! IT'S MY FAULT NICO'S DEAD!" Percy yelled, not particularly angry at Annabeth, but angry at himself.

Annabeth wrapped him in a life-squeezing hug. She was so confused. Was this the right choice? She wasn't sure whether or not she should be regretting her decision or not. SO she just hugged him tighter and tighter.

But Percy never responded to her. Why? Because Percy didn't care. He felt hollow inside. How could let this happen? The Hero of Olympus they called him. Lies. Fabrications! If he was truly a hero, he wouldn't have allowed this happen. But he had. And now, Nico was gone. He suddenly grabbed Ananbeth, hugging her back equally as tightly, and cried. Annabeth tried to quiet him and gently rubbed his back. She tried to tell him that it was okay and that it wasn't his fault. But Percy didn't care.

Now he knew what had happened that day. Now, he was doing exactly what Annabeth feared would happen. He was breaking on the inside and more than likely, he would never be fixed again.


	4. Chapter 4

Percy remained in the infirmary for the rest of the day, especially due to Annabeth's insistence. She hadn't exactly felt comfortable leaving him to his own devices in his current state of mind.

Percy had never felt worse in his life. He felt as if he was dead. Actually, he might as well be dead. After all, the god of the Underworld now had an even bigger grudge on him. And honestly, Percy couldn't have blamed him. He had allowed Nico to die. Percy couldn't help but notice the coincidence of it all. He had been responsible for the deaths of both Bianca and Nico di Angelo. Both children of Hades were heroes when he couldn't be one. Both of them had sacrificed their lives in order to save Percy's.

Percy closed his eyes, eager for sleep to take him. He didn't want to be awake. If he was conscious, that meant that he would have to face the fact that he was a murderer. But then again, what was stopping the fact from slapping him in the face with his dreams. He sighed as his conscious mind began to retire. Why? Jut why couldn't he stop her?

* * *

Annabeth watched Percy as he fell asleep, guilt beginning to take over. She had managed to come to terms with most of it, but still had yet to forgive herself for what she did to Percy. She moved her hand to brush some of his hair out of his face. It wasn't his fault that Nico died, not by a long shot. In truth, it was no one's fault but that twisted goddess, Gaea. Everyone knew that, even Hades—even though he still held a grudge against Percy since both of his children had died under his watch.

However, Percy didn't. Annabeth knew him well enough to know that Percy wasn't going to be Percy for quite some time. Nico had always been a younger brother to him and perhaps to her too. Her feelings about the son of Hades were never really clear. She valued him as a friend and knew he was a strong demigod, but he had always managed to creep her out. Maybe it was because she lacked the understanding that Percy had about the boy, but his presence often made her shiver. But if there was one thing that Annabeth could come to terms with, it was the fact that Nico didn't deserve to die in the way he did. Despite him never staying in camp, they still burned his shroud, among others, who had died in the Giant War.

Annabeth stared blindly into her boyfriend's face. Now in addition to Nico, they had lost another person to the war. Even though it had been only a couple of hours, she could see the boy's mind becoming undone. He was beginning to obsess over this. Beginning to draw wrong conclusions. Beginning to blame himself. And if it was one quality that both she and Percy shared, it was stubbornness. She drew her breath. She didn't know how long it would take to heal his wounded mind and spirit, but she was determined to help him. Percy had been there for her too many times for her to abandon him like this. Plus, she loved him. She wouldn't be able to leave like this even if she tried.

As Annabeth's focus sharpened, she noticed that Percy's face was changing. The saddened look he had earlier was changing into one of fear. It had taken her a couple of seconds, but she finally realized what was happening. He was having a nightmare, but from his constant murmurings of the word no, she suspected that his memory of the events that happened that day were resurfacing. She tried to shake him awake, but he refused. It was as if he couldn't. Seeing no other option, she grabbed his hand and let her finger run across the back of his hand.

Annabeth brought her face close to his, kissed his cheek, and started whispering to him. She told him that it was only a dream. That none of what he was seeing was his fault. It was a fact that hearing was the last human sense to go when the brain was unconscious. It didn't matter to her if he could actually hear her or not. He was suffering and that was the only thing Annabeth cared about.

* * *

_**Oh, Percy my dear. I thought you were a kind and compassionate boy. But I guess all you demigods really are the same. You pretend your human, but underneath the surface your all monsters. What else explains your affinity to violence? I thought the son of Hades was your companion? I thought he was your "little brother"? I understand hating your family, but still such anger you feel towards him. I must say, I think your rage rivals my own. Are you sure you wish to serve the gods? You seem to be much happier helping me.**_

_ Percy slashed and hacked at Nico, trying desperately to knock his blade out his hand and go in for the final strike. At least his body was anyway. His mind was desperately trying to take back control. His body had taken on a mind of its own, rather it had taken her mind. The moment he and Annabeth were about to close the doors, she had taken over his body. It had rushed through the doors on its own accord and started attacking Nico. Percy screamed as pain began to overcome his senses. This madness needed to stop before someone got hurt._

_ "Percy, stop! I'm right here! I'm okay!" Annabeth yelled._

_**My my Percy, now you're refusing to listen to your girlfriend? Your soul mate? What has happened to you indeed! You know, you should listen to her. She is a child of Athena after all. If anyone knows best out of any of these demigods here, it's here. Stop attack the son of Hades before you do something you'll regret. We all know how easy it is for you demigods to make irreversible mistakes.**_

_He tried. He honestly did. But she was too much. Her power was too great. It was like holding the sky and adding a few extra skies on top of that. He felt like he was drowning in a sea of darkness. For the second time of his life, he felt like he was going under the surface. He was scared. And to make matters worse, not only was she controlling him, Gaea was mocking him. She knew he could do nothing, but yet she taunted him with the belief that he could shake her free. He heard himself utter a phrase, but he couldn't decipher it._

_ "Percy!" Annabeth yelled again. "Wake Up! You're fighting Nico not a monster! Please stop!" Annabeth cried._

_ "Please Percy!" Piper poured all her charmspeak into every word, "You're among friends. You can stop fighting!"_

_ He tried to listen to Piper. Tried to concentrate on her charmspeak. But, he couldn't. Gaea, even in a dormant state, was still more powerful than all seven's—plus Nico's—powers combined_

_**Wow, so high and mighty that you can shake off Aphrodite's child's charmspeak. I must admit, I am impressed with your capabilities Mr. Jackson. Oh! Your swordsmanship is also top notch. Excellent strike. That's the way you disarm a demigod! Are you the last of your kind? I wish there were more. Ah well, as much as this was I really must get around to waking up. This experience has been like…what do you mortals drink again…oh yes, drinking caffeine. Now, if you wouldn't mind my dear, finish the brat.**_

_He tried to give himself to the darkness. He was losing consciousness. Perhaps if he lost consciousness, his body would follow? Before he could try his plan, a shock jolted him back awake. Pain flooded his senses yet again._

_**No no no, son of Poseidon! I can't have you doing that. You must stay awake for the entire performance. After all, I would hate for you to miss your opening night. It's going to be spectacular! And look, you're already making an executorial decision. Now this is how you get rid of extra characters!**_

_I hate you, he thought. Never before did he hate anyone as much as he hated her. Gaea was making him do this. She was controlling his body to do her will! He tossed and turned in the darkness, but he couldn't break free. He saw Riptide go up in the air. Why had it come to this?_

_ Then, he saw his body fall down. Riptide skidded off somewhere on the floor._

_He felt himself get wrapped around and a sudden squeeze caught him off guard. It was Frank as an anaconda! He saw Leo and Jason prepare for a counter attack as Frank's grip tightened. HE heard the banging of monsters trying to push their way through the doors. How long could the others hold the doors?_

_ Then amongst all the chaos and confusion, he heard footsteps. His head turned to see none other than Nico charging at the Doors of Death with nothing more than his sword. He saw the determination in his eyes and froze. Something told him that that was how his face looked like whenever he was about to some _very_ dangerous. He wasn't sure how he was able to see so far and in the darkness that was Tartarus; perhaps Gaea was doing this? _

_He saw the young boy hack and slash at every monster in his path. He wondered if this was what he looked like with he had taken on Hades's army after he had gotten Achilles's curse. But, the difference between us was that he was invulnerable at the time, Nico wasn't._

_ The boy took every slash and stab. But he still went at them with everything he had. Eventually, he had killed everyone monster who had crowded around the door. When he turned back to face us, he looked like he had been placed in a blender. _

_**No. You idiots! Get back in the fight! Do not allow the Son of Hades to close the doors! Do you wish to live extra years in that place!**_

_His body was struggling against the might of the snake. Frank was having a tough time holding on. Due to the struggle, Percy had a hard time paying attention to anyone other than Jason, Leo, and Frank. But then finally, he heard one final thud. The Doors of Death were closed._

_Gaea's presence left his mind, but it was too late. Nico was gone. As Percy gained control of himself, he felt his brain beginning to suppress this. Beginning to make him believe that it didn't happen. Beginning to make him forget._

* * *

Percy woke up with a start and knocked his head into something. It had taken him a couple of minute to realize his head had collided with Annabeth, who was nursing her shoulder after the hit.

"Percy?" she asked cautiously.

"I'm sorry." He said, before turning his back to her. He didn't want her to look at him. She was far too pure to be tainted by an evil such as him. He felt her hand on his shoulder, trying to get him to turn around. But he remained strong. He didn't deserve her. He didn't deserve any of his friends. The only thing he did deserve was Hades's punishment. He closed his eyes yet again, though this time, he wasn't so eager to fall asleep again.


	5. Chapter 5

The beach was calm as Percy looked out on the waters. Sometimes, he just wished he jump into the waters and swim away. Swim away from his problems and life. But he knew that something would always drive him back to the world. Wherever he went, there was always going to be something bringing him back into the pain.

He felt himself collapse to the ground as his legs gave out. The tears fell uncontrollably. Why hadn't he been stronger? Why hadn't he stop Gaea from taking over his mind? Why had he broken through the darkness? Why hadn't he stopped Nico from sacrificing his life? Why hadn't it been him?

The questions broke the young man. For the first time, he felt not only alone but completely lost. It had been a month since he had learned the truth about what happened that day they escaped Tartarus. He had been released from the infirmary after a week of good behavior; although, that hadn't stopped Ananbeth from coming into the night and checking up on him.

Annabeth had tried to help. She really had. In contrast to her earlier behavior, Annabeth had visited him every day and seemed to spend as much time as she could with him. Some days, it was nice to have her around and he would be able to finally think of something other than Nico's death. But often times, it just wasn't enough. She would often remind him of what happened that day, though she wasn't the only one who reminded him. When he looked into the face of either Piper, Leo, or any of the other Heroes of Olympus, he would be reminded of his failure.

He felt his grip on sanity as he gripped his hand. It had been hard enough for him to keep it together in public. But he could only stay strong for so long. Everyone had his or her breaking point at some point. Percy had found his. As his face hit the ground, he felt himself pass out and fall into darkness.

* * *

"Percy!" Annabeth cried out as she ran towards him.

When he hadn't appeared for dinner, she had gotten worried. When she checked his cabin and he wasn't there, she had gotten hysterical. Annabeth had spent several minutes before realizing the only place Percy could have possible felt was a calm, quiet place to stay. She had finally found him at the beach, lying flat on his face. Luckily, his mouth was faced away from the sand.

She quickly flipped him over and put two fingers on his neck. He still had a pulse and the slow rising and falling of his chest showed that he was still breathing. She released a breath. He had only passed out. Seeing no sign of danger or injury, Annabeth merely sat down next to the unconscious Percy and allowed her mind to roam.

She knew that the truth had driven him into this state. She put her head in her hand. Why hadn't she been stronger for him? Why couldn't she have just smacked some sense into him rather than tell him the truth?

She brushed the thoughts aside as she realized how pointless it was to scold herself about the situation now. Percy would have just figured it out by some means. After all, he really wasn't stupid. She actually felt bad for insulting his intelligence by lying to him. Despite her nickname, Percy was actually very smart—if only he actually put that hidden intelligence in his schoolwork. But, what was done was done and now she needed to focus her energy on helping him heal.

Despite her attempts, she noticed that they had reversed role. Percy hadn't gone so far as to avoid her, but it was clear that his mind was in other places whenever she tried to talk to him. As she began to dwell more and more on this, she began to hear him groan. Shaking her head free of her thoughts about Percy, she turned to see him beginning to get up.

"Annabeth?" he asked groggily.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I guess I just passed out or something." His eyes left hers and stared down to the ground. She could see the dark rings under his eyes. Sometimes when she checked up on him, he was already awake. He looked so broken on those nights. He told her that Nico's death would replay over and over again and he only ever woke up once he had seen the painful memory at least twice. These nightmares constantly deprived Percy of both sleep and energy. It was almost as if some immortal had decided to take some kind of revenge on Percy.

"Alright, well, you want to go back to the camp?"

"No. I…" he paused, "I just want to stay out here for a while."

He got up from his spot and returned his back to the shoreline.

_'Percy.'_ She thought as she got up as well. She knew him well enough to know he was putting on a front. She could see through his bold face lie. She could see him breaking into nothingness and despair right before her. She had to do something, before he got any worse. Before he tried to kill himself again. It was times like these when she wished she never had lost her knife. She had gotten a sword to replace it; but unfortunately, it wasn't so easy to carry around with her like Riptide was. She was just going to have to do this the old fashion way.

* * *

Percy was partly expecting Annabeth to stay with him. He was partly expecting her to try to convince him that nothing was wrong. He was partly expecting to ignore her. He was not expecting to be punched in the face by Annabeth. He was not expecting Annabeth to be trying to pick a fight with him.

"Come on, Percy. Lost your edge in your sadness?" she growled, a sudden anger in her voice.

"Huh?," Percy tried to search her eyes looking for answer. For the first time, he couldn't tell what she was thinking. This actually scared Percy because it seemed like it was pretty much an impossibility of him being unable to read his girlfriend. However, he knew one thing: whatever she was trying to do, he wanted no part of. "Annabeth, I'm not going to fight you."

"Well, then I guess it's back to infirmary with you then." Her foot lashed out and knocked Percy square in chest. He stumbled back and watched as she ran at him again. He couldn't tell whether she was trying to tackle him or simple trying to unbalance him. Percy jumped back and grabbed her. Annabeth struggled against his hold and for a while she stopped moving; but within seconds of him loosening his grip, she started squirming again.

"Annabeth! What is wrong with you?" he asked as he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm. As the blonde haired girl scrambled back, Percy checked his arm. Bite marks. She had bit him!

"Come on, murderer! Is that the best you got?" she yelled and once again assumed an offensive stance.

Percy froze. He knew that he thought of himself as a killer, but he never thought Annabeth would ever call him that. Something inside him snapped as he registered what had just happened. Her words hurt worse than anything she had ever told him before, "What did you call me?" He growled, his temper beginning to rise.

"Well, isn't it your fault Nico's dead? After all you were the one who attacked him! Are you too stupid to understand? No wonder Gaea tricked you! When I called you a Seaweed Brain, I never thought you would take it to heart!" Annabeth said inwardly cursing herself for even being able to come up with such insults for Percy.

"SHUT UP!" He yelled. He clenched his hands so tightly that his knuckles turned white.. The worst part was that he knew she was right. He was a murderer. He had sent Nico to his death bed. It was his fault that he died!

Ananbeth noticed that his green eyes had flickered dangerously at her, but she needed to push past his boundaries. She could have smacked herself for how stupid she had been. Over the past month, Percy had been building a wall of hate and emotions that he reserved just for himself. Now, it was up to her to break that wall. It was up to her to really make him mad, "Hmph. Some Hero of Olympus you are. Can't even take the truth. You got used. You got tricked. And now Nico's dead because of it. Why couldn't you just have fought off Gaea? Why can't you save anyone when it truly matters, you stupid, cold-blooded killer!"

Percy felt something break inside of him. All the rage and pain he had felt over the past month started to escape in every blow he dealt. He felt tears cloud his eyes. It was his fault! His fault! Why did she have to remind him that it was his fault Nico was dead?! Hadn't he suffered enough? Hadn't he cried enough?! Why couldn't he just have saved him?! He ran at Annabeth who step sided and tripped him, causing him to fall to the ground.

In mere seconds, she had straddled him and was hold his hands behind his back, trying to prevent them from moving. If it was anyone else, Percy would have bucked them off and continued his assault. But he couldn't because of two problems. The first was that he was completely drained since he had barely slept and eaten in the past twenty four hours. The second was Annabeth. He couldn't do anything to harm her, even if he was upset at her. He squirmed against her and tried to free his hands, but she too was holding firm. As he realized that nothing he could do would help his situation, he wailed.

Percy, with his face away from the san, cried. His energy was gone. His rage and pain was dissipating as well. Now, he was just an empty void. A waste of space. She was right…as always. He had killed Nico. But then, he felt Annabeth get off of him. He got up slowly and, despite his better judgment, turned to face her.

When he did, he noticed something about her eyes had changed once again. They were warm and filled with love. Did she not hate him? Suddenly, what she said had dawned on him. He felt Annabeth's arms around him. And for the first time in a month, he accepted the embrace and started crying again.

"Percy, you're only mortal, no matter how many people would like to think that you're not. There are just some things that you can't do. You wouldn't have been able to merely boot Gaea out of your head just like that. She's powerful; even though she's asleep again, after what we all have been through, I don't believe that she's not some awake still. Just lulled deep enough to not cause major trouble.

"What happened to Nico was not your fault. It never was. He chose his path. He died a hero and his sacrifice was not in vain. That is…as long as you stop beating yourself up about it. He died so that everyone could continue having a life. Including you. I'm not saying forget about him. I'm just saying let go of this lie that you're the one who caused it. Please. Let it go. I'm so sorry for saying those things, but I didn't see any other way of making you see the truth. I'm sorry." Annabeth said as they both stated crying.

They cried for each other. They cried for the demigods who were lost in the war. And…they cried for Nico.

* * *

_"So, you finally got over being depressed huh?" a voice called out._

_ Percy looked behind him to see none other Nico standing behind him. He looked exactly like how he had when Percy had seen him before falling into Tartarus, had the same clothing style too._

_ "NICO!"_

_ "Hey, Perce. Sorry I couldn't come before, but it was just so depressing in this mind of yours. Plus, I don't really like the 24 hour version of my death replaying in your mind. It's nothing something I enjoy watching."_

_ "Is this…"_

_ "Yes, it's dream. You fell asleep after your little revelation and Annabeth had to drag your half-conscious self back into your cabin. And yes, I actually do have a time limit here so we should probably talk quickly."_

_ Percy drew a breath, "Listen, I'm…"_

_ "Just stop, I'm not angry. You wouldn't have been able to stop her. It could have happened to anyone of us. Just promise me one thing."_

_ "What? Name it."_

_ "Don't hold grudges. In the end, it's really not worth it. I almost didn't learn that lesson. But I'm glad that you and Bianca were able to teach me that in the Labyrinth. It helped to make my life a lot more bearable. So please, stop feeling bad about my death. It was my choice to throw myself into Tarturus to close the doors. _

"_You were being used by Gaea. She wouldn't have given up control of your body until she had completed her goal. Honestly, she probably would have killed all of us whether you were possessed or someone else was. So please, stop feeling upset about it."_

_ Percy took time to ingest this. Finally he looked at his friend, "I promise."_

_ "Good, now use that loyalty of yours to keep it. Also, don't forget to visit. A few people want to say hi to you." Nico gave him a small grin._

_ "Alright, I will." Percy smiled, "You know if your dad ever lets me that is."_

_ "I'm sure you'll find a way. See you later, Percy."_

_ "Back at you, Nico."_

* * *

Annabeth never felt happier than she did the next day when Percy came back out of his cabin, walked all the way over to her Monster class she was teaching, spun her around, and kissed her in front of all her students. Everyone in the class started snicker—especially since Annabeth had all the eight to ten year olds, but she really could have cared less at that moment.

Percy, her Percy, was back. And this time, she wasn't going to let him go ever again.

* * *

Sequel: _Mending Inside Remastered _this Friday


End file.
